


We'll Fly Away

by slotumn



Series: Wherever the Wind May Take Us [5]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Character Study, F/M, Falling In Love, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Golden Deer Route, Possibly OOC, Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Romance, no beta we die like Glenn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-07
Updated: 2020-02-07
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:13:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22597621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slotumn/pseuds/slotumn
Summary: Sometimes, the reckless romantic and the innocent boy peek out between the perpetually calculating schemer.
Relationships: Lysithea von Ordelia/Claude von Riegan
Series: Wherever the Wind May Take Us [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1593274
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20
Collections: Slotumn Portfolio





	We'll Fly Away

_Mirror_

She reminded him of...himself, in many ways. 

Kids who knew what was on the line all too well and forced themselves to grow up too fast against their original natures.

(He never dared to ask her the details on what happened, but it couldn't have been good, that much was clear.)

That was why he let himself trust her a little bit more than most, as foolish as it might have been.

\---

_Oversharing_

During the late nights at the library, they mostly talked about strategy and war, but one particular time, it drifted into other subjects-- like what they wanted to do in the future. 

At first they both gave their standard response, but then one of them (he doesn't remember who, because it was so late) said, we already know that, but what would you do if you could really live life however you wanted?

He thought he already knew most of his (former) classmates fairly well, but that exchange taught him way more about her than expected-- like the fact she knows how to bake, her favorite flowers are lilies and she wants to figure out a way to efficiently grow them without all the manual labor gardening usually involves, she's curious about what kind of magic (and cake recipes) they use outside Fódlan. 

So he also told her a lot of things most people didn't know about him-- things he'd almost forgotten himself, because of the war.

About how he enjoyed racing across open fields on horseback, or stargazing and recounting legends tied to each constellation, or singing songs with lyrics from famous pieces of poetry. 

About how he wasn't always someone who measured calculated everything, and honestly would like nothing more than to live in a world where he could go back to being that way. (Even though that would never happen, if he continued on to become king.)

Normally, sharing that much was something he'd put firmly in the "showing too much vulnerability" territory. 

He didn't mind going there if it was with her, for some reason.

\---

_Fantasy (of the romantic type)_

She always looked so tired, so at one point he began sneaking in snacks to the library to share.

Sometimes she'd mumble that she didn't need help with every little thing, she's not a child, all that standard Lysithea reaction, but she never turned it down.

And one evening, she'd fallen asleep at her usual spot. The book laying open, face-down beside her was...not the usual texts on magic or strategy, but a novel. 

A romance novel. 

So she's not entirely uninterested in things like this, he thought amusedly, and figured it wouldn't hurt to take a peek at the contents. 

_"We've done our share of duties and responsibilities. Is it truly that bad-- to want the rest of our lives for ourselves?"_

_"Come on. Let's run away. Let's go somewhere nobody will find us. And let's live an ordinary, happy life. Together."_

He shut the book, and the sound must have been louder than he thought, because she woke up and looked at him-- at first in confusion, then in a combination of annoyance and embarassment. 

Following some bickering, they settled on a deal that he wouldn't tell anyone about her reading "weird cheesy novels" in exchange for not getting blown to bits by a fireball. (He didn't intend to, but teasing her about it was fun.)

He couldn't catch her reading another "weird cheesy novel" again, and that should have been the end of that--

\--but those two quotes refused to be erased from his mind. 

\---

_High on love_

One month, Professor Byleth decided that the most efficient way to finish their upcoming battle would be to put everyone on a flying mount, and began doing intensive flight drills, much to the chagrin of most troops. (Classic Teach.)

The ones who already knew how to fly were assigned to tutor others, and Lysithea was (thankfully) partnered with him. 

Teach also required the tutors to ride with their students for the first few lessons until they got used to the height, and he wasn't sure how to feel about that, but quickly pushed any personal sentiments to the back of his mind. 

This is strategy and tactic for battle, he repeated to himself. Let's keep it that way.

Yet somewhere between the bluffs about how she wasn't scared, her arms holding onto his waist, and the eventual amazed whisper about the view from above, those sentiments had seeped back out.

"From up here, it almost feels like...we could go anywhere in the world," she said.

"...Yeah."

His mother once told him that love made you feel like you could journey to the ends of the universe. 

"Maybe we can, one day."

\---

_One day_

For the moment, it didn't seem like anything changed between them.

The war was still going on, after all, and the fleeting wild flashes of thoughts, about abandoning everything and eloping had to stay as just that-- thoughts. 

And even after it ended, there was much to do, most of involving duties, responsibilities, politics he couldn't bring himself to abandon. The innocent boy who wore his heart on his sleeves wasn't coming back.

It would be no perfect fairytale ending. 

But he could still sweep her away.

That was enough.

**Author's Note:**

> Then their paired ending happens and it does turn out to be a fairytale.
> 
> I mostly just wanted to do a study about the aspects of Claude that's not all about calculating and schemes and how that would relate to him falling in love.


End file.
